Candlelight and hymns filled Alice Millar Chapel in honor of the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday afternoon as the Alpha Mu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha hosted its 46th annual candlelight vigil.
The Northwestern chapter invited fraternity member the Rev. Charlie Dates — a senior pastor of the Progressive Baptist Church and the Salem Baptist Church of Chicago — to deliver the keynote speech. His sermon centered around one of King’s favorite Bible verses: Luke 10:25, which narrates the parable of the good Samaritan.
Dates used the parable to illustrate how King embodied what it preached. He also emphasized the importance of community action amid current social unrest, referencing the increased presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country.
“We don’t need to look for good Samaritans,” Dates said. “We need to be good Samaritans.”
Alpha Mu gave out three $500 scholarships to NU students at the vigil.
SESP sophomore and Alpha Mu President Malachi Ramsey said the chapter aims to support students whenever possible, especially given how crucial service is to the chapter and to King’s legacy.
“A big part of what MLK preached is education and uplifting the community, and those are our morals as Alphas,” Ramsey said. “We pride ourselves on uplifting the community and things of that nature.”
Following its theme of serving the community, the vigil featured a voter registration booth where attendees could verify their voter registration status and collect flyers with information about upcoming elections.
The Northwestern Community Ensemble performed two songs, including “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a hymn that has unofficially been adopted as the Black national anthem.
Second-year divinity master’s student and NCE Chaplain Medomfo Owusu said the vigil is an event that NCE always participates in. Owusu said she appreciates how the vigil maintains King’s legacy and encourages reflection.
“When we hear from our ancestors and the stories of our saints, it reminds us that the reason we go to college is so that we can be equipped to be leaders for the future,” Owusu said.
The vigil is one of Alpha Mu’s trademark events. The tradition began in 1979, inspired by the national fraternity’s advocacy for establishing a federal holiday to commemorate King. In addition to celebrating his life, the vigil is designed to reflect on his impact on the Civil Rights Movement.
Although King passed away over 50 years ago, the vigil allows members of the fraternity to reflect on his impact, Ramsey said.
Ramsey added that both the fraternity and King emphasized the importance of brotherhood, which the chapter hopes to keep working toward with King’s morals in mind.
“His dream is still yet to be met,” Ramsey said. “We definitely are progressing towards it, but we’re not there yet. We’ve still got work to do.”
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